shepherd

The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is translated as “shepherd” in English is translated in Kouya as Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ — ” tender of sheep.”

Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains:

“Then one day they tackled the thorny problem of ‘shepherd’. It was problematic because Kouyas don’t have herdsmen who stay with the sheep all the time. Sheep wander freely round the village and its outskirts, and often a young lad will be detailed to drive sheep to another feeding spot. So the usual Kouya expression meant a ‘driver of sheep’, which would miss the idea of a ‘nurturing’ shepherd. ‘A sheep nurturer’ was possible to say, but it was unnatural in most contexts. The group came up with Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ which meant ‘a tender of sheep’, that is one who keeps an eye on the sheep to make sure they are all right. All, including the translators, agreed that this was a most satisfactory solution.”

Other translations include:

  • Chuj: “carer” (there was no single word for “shepherd”) (source: Ronald Ross)
  • Muna: “sheep guard” (dhagano dhumba) (there was no immediate lexical equivalent) (source: René van den Berg),
  • Mairasi: “people who took care of domesticated animals” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: “sheep worker” (kookendjeriyang-yakina) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Kwakum: “those-who-monitor-the-livestock” (source: Stacey Hare in this post )

See also I am the good shepherd, complete verse (Psalm 23:1), and sheep / lamb.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Shepherds in the Bible .

complete verse (Genesis 46:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 46:32:

  • Kankanaey: “I will tell him that you pasture-animals and you have brought-along your animals and all your possessions.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I will tell the king that you are shepherds, so [you] have brought cows, sheep, cattle and all [your] belongings.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I will-tell him that you (pl.) are ones-who-watches-over animals, and you (pl.) in-fact brought your (pl.) animals and all your (pl.) possessions.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The men are all shepherds. They take care of their livestock, and they have brought with them their sheep and goats and cattle, and everything else that they own.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)
  • Wubuy: “And I will tell him, you (habitually) look after sheep and goats and cattle, and you have brought them all here with you.” (Source: Michael Hore in The Bible Translator 2004, p. 448ff. )

Translation commentary on Genesis 46:32

Shepherds … keepers of cattle: shepherds refers to people who tend or care for sheep and goats. Cattle refers to all kinds of livestock. Flocks are great numbers of sheep and goats. Herds is used to refer here to large numbers of cows or to livestock generally.

All that they have: that is, “all their possessions” or “all that they own.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .